An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge
"An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" (also published as "A Dead Man's Dream") is a short story with a twist ending by the American author Ambrose Bierce. It first appeared in print in the newspaper The San Francisco Examiner on July 13, 1890. It was republished the following year as part of an anthology of Bierce's stories titled Tales of Soldiers and Civilians. The story takes place during the American Civil War. It is divided into three chapters. The first chapter describes a scene in which the story's protagonist, a Southern civilian, is awaiting execution by hanging. The second chapter reveals that the condemned man's name is Peyton Farquhar and describes how he came to be condemned to death by the Union Army. The third chapter describes how Farquhar appears to escape death by hanging. "An Occurrence at Owl Creek" is the most anthologized of Bierce's stories. it has been adapted to other media numerous times and is often referenced in popular culture. Plot Chapter I of "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" takes place on a railroad bridge over a river in northern Alabama during the American Civil War. A respectable looking civilian of about thirty-five years of age is awaiting execution by hanging. The rope around his neck is tied to a cross beam at the top of the bridge. His wrists are tied together behind his back. There is no hood over his head and he is not blindfolded. He is standing on a plank which is sticking out from the side of the bridge. A Union soldier is standing on the other end of the plank. When the soldier steps away, the man will hang. There are several other soldiers on the bridge and many more on a nearby river bank. It appears to the condemned man that the river is not moving very quickly. He thinks that he could free his hands, untie the noose around his neck and dive into the river to escape. He then begins to think of his wife and children. The events of Chapter II take place before those of Chapter I. It is revealed that the condemned man's name is Peyton Farquhar. He is a slave owner and therefore a natural supporter of the Confederacy. For unspecified reasons, he is unable to join the Confederate Army but he supports the Confederate war effort in any way that he can. One evening, a Confederate soldier arrives at Farquhar's home and asks for a drink of water. While Farquhar's wife is fetching the water, he asks the Confederate soldier what the latest news form the front is. The Confederate soldier says that the Union Army are repairing the railroad and have reached the bridge on Owl Creek. He adds that an order has gone out which says that any civilian caught trying to sabotage the railroad will be executed without trial. In response to Farquhar's questions, the Confederate soldier says that the Owl Creek bridge is about thirty miles away and is not very well guarded. A flood the previous winter carried a pile of driftwood to one side of the bridge. The driftwood is now very dry and would burn easily. The Confederate soldier is really a scout for the Union Army in disguise. In Chapter III, Farquhar finds that the hangman's rope has broken and he is in the river. He is still alive but is being slowly strangled by the noose around his neck. Although he thinks it would be preferable to die of strangulation at the bottom of the river, Farquhar finds himself instinctively trying to remove the ropes that bind his wrists. After he has undone them, he takes the noose off his neck. Farquhar comes to the surface of the river. He feels intensely alive. He is aware of each tree and each insect around him. Soldiers on the bridge and on the riverbank fire at him but he manages to dodge their bullets. Farquhar reaches the opposite bank of the river a long way downstream. He is happy to lie there for a while, until the soldiers begin shooting at him again. He runs into a forest. The forest is a large one without any signs of human activity in it. It occurs to Farquhar that he had not known that he lived in "so wild a region". He finds that realization to have something strange about it. By nightfall, Farquhar has reached a road which he knows will take him home. The road is a very wide one but it appears to be unused. There are no fields or houses on either side of it and no other signs that there are people nearby, although Farquhar sometimes hears whispers in a language he does not understand coming from the forest. Farquhar looks up at the sky and sees, "great golden stars looking unfamiliar and grouped in strange constellations." The pain around Farquhar's neck where the noose had been gets worse. He feels thirsty and his tongue is swollen. In order to get some relief, Farquhar sticks his tongue out of his mouth. He can no longer feel the road beneath his feet. He thinks this is because he is very tired. It is suddenly morning and Farquhar has arrived at his home. His wife rushes to greet him. There is a flash of light and then everything goes black. The story ends with the revelation that Farquhar's escape only took place in his imagination in the few moments before he was executed. Adaptations Movie adaptations of "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" include The Bridge (USA 1929) La Rivière du hibou (France 1962), Ambrose Bierce: Civil War Stories (USA 2006), An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge (USA 2007), Owl Creek Bridge (UK 2007), The Escapist (UK/Ireland 2008) and The Exit Room (USA 2013). The black and white French film La Rivière du hibou, directed by Robert Enrico and starring Roger Jacquet as Peyton Farquhar, won the award for Best Short Subject at the 1962 Cannes Film Festival and the 1963 Academy Award for Live Action Short Film. The American television producer William Froug acquired the rights to the film for $25,000. It was shown on CBS as an episode of The Twilight Zone on February 28, 1964. The deal which Froug negotiated only allowed for the film to be shown on American television twice. That meant that it did not go into syndication along with other episodes of The Twilight Zone. It is, however, now included in some DVD compilations of the series. "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge' was adapted for American television as an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents. The episode, starring British actor Ronald Howard as Peyton Farquhar, first aired on CBS on December 20, 1959. There have been several American radio adaptations of "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge". The story was adapted as an episode of Escape which first aired on CBS on December 10, 1947. Two episodes of Suspense are based on the story, one starring Victor Jory as Peyton Farquhar, which first aired on CBS on December 9, 1956, and one starring Vincent Price as Farquhar, which first aired on CBS on July, 9, 1959. The story was adapted as an episode of The CBS Radio Mystery Theater which first aired on June 4, 1974. An abridged version of the story is read in an episode of Tales by American Masters which first aired on NPR on May 29, 2001. An adaptation of the story appears in issue #23 of the comic book Eerie from September 1969. See also *Sound files of public domain audiobooks of "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" from LibriVox: **North American female reader **North American male reader **North American male reader **British male reader External links *Text of Ambrose Bierce's "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" on Wikisource. *"An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" on the SparkNotes website. *"An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge' on the Twilight Zone wiki. Category:Short Stories Category:Famous Category:Classic